[1][2][3][4] Born and raised in Maryland, Guidera received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, and later earned a master's degree in public policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government.

From 1995 to 2003, Guidera worked for the National Alliance of Business, eventually becoming the organization's Vice President of Programs.

In 2005, Guidera founded the Data Quality Campaign (DQC), a nonpartisan, nonprofit advocacy organization established to improve the quality, accessibility and use of data in education to improve student achievement.

[8][9] Guidera and her husband Bill raised two daughters in Minnesota and recently moved to Virginia.

[10][3] In 2012, Guidera was named one of Time Magazine's School of Thought: 12 Education Activists of 2012.